


Waiting

by SerMisty



Series: PolyPearls [27]
Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Blue Pearl is mute, F/F, Multi, White Pearl Theory, not my best piece of work but anyway
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-06
Updated: 2016-08-06
Packaged: 2018-07-29 19:37:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,539
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7696774
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SerMisty/pseuds/SerMisty
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p><i>«How long will it take?» she asks. <br/>«I don’t know» Pearl sighs.</i> </p>
<p>Waiting for Blue to come back makes Pearl and Yellow realize how much they need her.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Waiting

**Author's Note:**

> this prompt was suggested by lapisincrocs and it was a good summary of polypearls relationship, tbh. I think it could have been written better but oh well. I hope you enjoy!

The first day is a mess. 

Pearl and Yellow run around, first in the battlefield, later at home. They meet almost casually as they walk from one side of the room to the opposite, bumping into each other, talking loudly to themselves, watching in front of them without really seeing anything. 

Blue got poofed. 

It shouldn’t have happened. It was the one thing that should have never happened, but it has, and neither of them has the slightest idea of how to act about it.   
When Garnet, Amethyst and Steven try to calm them, they’re meet with incoherent pieces of dialogue. 

«We should have-»   
«If only we-»   
«It was too fast-»  
«We were too slow-»   
«She thought she could-»   
«Why didn’t she-» 

They’re freaking out so much that they don’t even know what to do with her gem – apart from checking it every two seconds, searching carefully for the littlest scratch. Steven has to gently take it from their hands and place it on the same comfortable pillow he used for Pearl when she got poofed. He gets only a half thank you before they start walking in circles around the table, eyes wide open and pupils as little as pins. 

«I’m a little worried» the boy admits, turning to Garnet. 

The fusion fixes her glasses. 

«We should consider moving to the barn for the next few weeks» she says. Nobody questions. 

 

*** 

 

The third day they calm down a bit. 

They sit together on the couch, staring at Blue’s gem on the table. Pearl chews at her bottom lip, and Yellow keeps beating her foot on the ground. 

«How long will it take?» she asks.   
«I don’t know» Pearl sighs.   
«How long does it usually take?»   
«It depends».   
«You’re _so_ useful». 

Pearl groans. 

«It depends» she repeats. «The longest Amethyst has ever taken is four hours. I could regenerate pretty quickly during the war, but I usually take around the two weeks».   
«Two weeks?» Yellow screeches, horrified. «We can’t stay without Blue for two weeks!»   
«I know» Pearl agrees. 

Yellow hides her face behind her hands, takes a deep breath. 

«Are you _sure_ she’s okay in there?»   
«I don’t see – I don’t see why she shouldn’t be. It’s a simple regeneration». 

Yellow sighs, leaning against the couch. 

«Blue has never regenerated before» she mutters. 

Pearl nods slowly. She remembers that Yellow has done it, a couple of times – _it’s always Yellow Diamond’s fault_ – but has never seen Blue did it. She suspected it never happened in the following five thousand years, neither, and now she knows it’s true. 

«She’ll be fine».   
«What if she doesn’t know what to do and-»   
«She’ll be fine». 

She’s telling this more to herself than to Yellow. They both stay quiet and keep watching. 

 

*** 

 

The fifth day Yellow tries a different approach. 

«Hey, Blue!» she sits on the floor, so that she is looking right at the gem on the table. «Why don’t you come out of there? We can watch a movie, or play Steven’s videogames – or we can talk about whatever you like!» 

She keeps an awkward smile on, but her words are met with silence. She sighs. 

«She can’t hear you in there». 

Pearl leans against the counter, polishing the handle of her spear.   
Yellow snorts. 

«At least _I_ am trying something» she replies. «And why do you keep doing that? It’s useless – you just keep pulling out spear after spear from your gem!»   
«Cleaning things relaxes me» Pearl shrugs.   
«Well, stop it! You’re making me uncomfortable!»   
«How on Earth can I make you uncomfortable by cleaning things?»   
«I don’t know! You just do!» 

Yellow groans and almost slams her head on the table. Pearl stops for a moment, but then resumes her activity. 

«It’s my way to deal with the whole situation» she says.   
«You don’t look like you miss her» Yellow mutters. 

Pearl stops again, this time completely, the spear disappearing from her hands. 

«Don’t even joke about this» she threatens.   
«Whatever» Yellow replies. Then she jumps all of sudden, her expression changes in a second. «Hey! White! Look! I think I saw a light!»   
«What?!» 

Pearl is next to her in less than a second, kneeled at her side, one hand on her shoulder. They stare at Blue’s gem with eyes full of faith, forgetting what they were debating about one moment before. 

The light on Blue’s gem is just a reflection from the window, and they both know.   
They hang on that hope for the whole day, sitting one next to the other. 

 

*** 

 

The seventh day they snap. 

«You should have watched over her!» Yellow shouts, pointing one accusatory finger against Pearl. They stand at opposite sides of the table, and Blue is in between them – but she can’t put her hands on their shoulders and calm them down.   
«You were the one standing right next to her!» Pearl retorts in a growl. «Why didn’t you do something?»   
«You are the one always bragging about your amazing fighting skills – great skills indeed! You let Blue get hurt!»   
«You did!»   
«You did!» 

At this point, Blue would usually stop them. She would scold both of them with warning fingers and disapproving looks, explaining in her own personal language that blaming each other can’t do any good. They would lower their heads, guilty, apologize, and Blue would kiss them both. 

But Blue isn’t here. 

«I would never hurt Blue nor put her in danger, ever!» Pearl’s face is flushed by anger.   
«Oh, really?» Yellow snarls. «But when you left, I was the one taking care of her! I was the one loving her and making sure she wouldn’t get hurt! I was the one always there for her!»   
«You-» Pearl slams her hands on the table, unable to reply to that. «You can’t do anything else but dig up the past! We’re here now, and I am the one looking out for both of you!»   
«Congratulations, great work!» she points at Blue’s gem with a dramatic movement, and Pearl shifts in place as if she got hit; for a single instant the light of the window shines on Blue’s gem again, but this time they don’t notice. 

«It wasn’t my fault!» Pearl screeches.   
«But Blue got poofed anyway!» Yellow shouts. «I wish _you_ were on this table instead of her!»   
«I wish the same!» 

They growl at each other and then turn around simultaneously, oblivious of the tears that they both are about to cry. They walk off and try to stand as far away as possible, Pearl up the stairs in Steven’s room, and Yellow leaned on the inside of the kitchen counter. 

They don’t exit the house. They don’t leave Blue alone. 

 

*** 

 

The eighth day they don’t say a single word. They don’t share a look. The silence is heavy, it makes the air unbreathable – but they don’t need to breathe. 

 

*** 

 

The ninth day there is a thunderstorm outside, with wind, lightning, rain. The window is open, and Blue’s gem is near, and some drops of rain fall on it.   
Both Pearl and Yellow run to close the window. They clean Blue’s gem, check if there is something wrong, or something new.   
Once it’s done, they go back to their grounds. They try to hide that they’re looking at each other. 

 

*** 

 

The tenth day there is complete silence again.   
Only some more sighs. 

 

*** 

The eleventh day they finally talk. 

Yellow is sitting on the couch, staring at Blue’s gem, when Pearl walks down the stairs. She hesitates for a while, but then moves towards her and sits on the opposite side, slowly. Yellow’s eyes dart on her just for a second before moving away again. 

«How’s she?» Pearl asks in a murmur. 

Yellow sighs. 

«All the same. She hasn’t moved». 

Pearl hums.   
There is silence again. They both drum their fingers on their knees, they look at each other – they blush when their eyes meet, turn around.   
Pearl sighs. 

«Listen» she begins, «I didn’t really mean what I said. I-»   
«Oh, really?» Yellow snorts, unconvinced.   
«Don’t use that tone, because if you do we’re going to get angry again and we’ll be back to where we started, and you know it». 

Yellow opens her mouth to reply, but then stops and closes it. She huffs, but keeps quiet.   
She doesn’t want to argue, neither. 

«I didn’t really mean what I said» Pearl repeats. «I know you look out for Blue. I know you always have». 

She hums again, looks away, waits.   
Yellow stirs in place, as if she’s fighting with herself, but eventually sighs loudly. 

«Yeah, I didn’t mean it either» she admits. «Of course it’s not your fault if she got hurt. It just happened». 

The silence that follows is extremely awkward – and breaks only when they both, suddenly, start laughing.   
Just like that. They laugh. Just a chuckle at first, quick looks, and then a heartfelt laugh. 

«It was _this_ easy!» Pearl has to hold her belly, she’s laughing too hard. «Why didn’t we do that from the beginning?»   
«I don’t know!» Yellow wipes away a big tear that her laughter has provoked. «We’ve cornered ourselves for three days!»   
«We are so dumb».   
«We are». 

They fall back on the couch, waiting for their laughter to pass.   
Pearl stares at the ceiling as her chest stops quiver from giggles. 

«Blue keeps us together» she realizes, not that she didn’t already know, but it’s the first time one of them says it out loud. «She balances us. We – we _love_ each other, but if it wasn’t for her, we wouldn’t resist a day alone in the same room».   
«We resisted six days» Yellow makes her notice.   
«Okay, yes» Pearl admits, «but we didn’t talk much. And when we did, we argued».   
«But I like arguing with you!» Yellow raises herself, slightly blushing. «I like it. It’s one of my favorite things, because – because we’re never _serious_. I mean, we could be, but Blue always stops us before-» 

The words disappear from her tongue, the sentence is left hanging.   
Pearl looks at her, chuckles. 

«Eh. That’s right». 

There is silence for a while. They let the realization sink in. 

«Alright» Yellow then coughs. «Let’s make a compromise: we’ll get along without bickering until Blue comes back».   
«I thought you liked arguing with me?» Pearl teases.   
«We can argue when Blue will be here to stop us. That’s the part I like the most».   
«Me too». 

They laugh. Pearl laughs harder, and Yellow gently punches her, but loses balance and falls on her and they end up kissing while they’re still laughing. 

Blue’s gem stares. The reflection from the window makes it look like she’s smiling. 

 

*** 

 

The thirteenth day they leave Blue’s gem alone for exactly twenty-seven minutes: the time they need to run to the nearest video store and come back. 

«We’ve got you a present!» Pearl smiles in front of Blue’s gem, and shows her the video tape she’s hiding behind her back. «Crying Breakfast Friends: The Movie. We know how much you like that show».   
«And let me tell you» Yellow intervenes in a snort, «I’ve never been more embarrassed in my whole life. That human behind the counter was _judging_ us».   
«Yes, buying a movie with the label _3-5 years_ wasn’t something I ever expected to do» Pearl concedes, blushing slightly. 

Blue doesn’t answer. The gem doesn’t shine.   
Yellow sighs. 

«You better come back soon» she murmurs. «We miss you».   
«We do» Pearl agrees. 

They smile. 

 

*** 

 

The fourteenth day Blue comes back. 

Pearl and Yellow are not watching when it happens. They are up in Steven’s room, playing his videogames – the best way not to fight, after all, is to make their characters fight at their place. 

«How did you even make that attack?»   
«Because I’m Lonely Blade».   
«Well, I’m Yellow Lonely Blade and I don’t have that attack!»   
«You have to press the left button».   
«This one? Oh! I’ll destroy you now!» 

And they laugh, and their shoulders bump one into the other and they laugh even more. They laugh so hard that they take a moment to notice that Blue’s gem has raised into the air – they both stop playing and on the screen appears a flashing YOU WIN on the side of Pearl’s character, but they don’t notice. 

Blue’s gem shines just once, and then the light takes the form of a body and Blue is there, she’s _there_ , and Pearl and Yellow blink as if they expect their hallucination to disappear.   
Blue descends on the floor slowly, like an angel. She stretches her fingers and looks at herself, checking that yes, she’s there indeed.   
Then she looks up. 

Pearl and Yellow stay immobile for a couple of seconds, eyes wide open, jaw left hanging, absolutely shocked. Yellow is the first to move. 

«Blue!» 

She throws her controller on Pearl’s face and sprints down the stairs. Pearl doesn’t even take that route, and jumps on the lower floor directly from Steven’s room. Yelling her name once again, both her and Yellow jump in Blue’s arm, and it’s a wonder how Blue manages not to fall on the floor. 

«You’re back!» Pearl squeals, and she hugs her closer.   
«We were so worried!» Yellow adds, and she squeezes harder. 

Blue smiles, happy and a little confused. She hugs them back, however, that’s instinctive.

«Hey, Blue, you look – different». 

They pull away and stare: Blue’s dress is gone and has been replaced by short pants, just like Pearl’s; she wears shoulder pads too, similar to Yellow’s, of a very light cerulean, and her hair is sided just a little to the right – there is more space to see her eyes now, and _stars_ , do they shine.   
Pearl and Yellow blush. 

«You look-»   
«Beautiful».   
«Yes». 

Blue blushes too, joining her hands to form a heart: her new outfit has pieces of them in it, and it’s enough to make both Pearl and Yellow tear up. They almost jump in her arms again. 

«Oh – oh, wait» Yellow wipes one single tear away before it actually falls. _Blue is back_. «Wait here! We have a present!» 

She runs up the stairs, shaking.   
Blue takes Pearl’s hand and squeezes. She then tilts her head and gestures in her own personal language, looking sincerely surprised.   
Pearl chuckles and coughs. 

«You have really little faith in us, Blue» she winks. «Of course we went along. Since the start».   
«Yeah, since the start» Yellow confirms, coming down the stairs again. She hands Blue the video tape they bought. «Here. So we can watch your favorite show together. And we promise we’ll try not to talk during the important scenes». 

Blue’s eyes shine when she reads the title of the movie, and her immediate reaction is to hug them both, kissing Pearl first and Yellow right after, before she can even begin to formulate a complain. She hugs them so close that they end up being near, so Pearl leans over and kisses Yellow, too.   
Yellow smirks against her lips. 

«Can we argue, now?»   
«Argue about what?»   
«I don’t know. I’ll come up with something». 

Blue shakes her head and laughs silently, holding them close.   
They don't need to always get along. She’ll be there when they don't - and when they do.

**Author's Note:**

> (also I had no idea for a post-regeneration outfit so of course consider this a one time thing I love Blue's original outfit tbh)


End file.
